Best books...chosen by Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik is an actor, writer, and neuroscientist best known for her roles on the
sitcoms Blossom and The Big Bang Theory. She is now curating a DC Comics book
series, Flash Facts, in which the Scarlet Speedster answers science-related questions.The Book List ARTS 23
Warrior by Theresa Larson (2016). Larson was
a Marine commander in Afghanistan who man-
aged hundreds of troops in the most critical, life-
threatening situations. But her greatest battle was
with bulimia, a condition that forced her to fight
to be released from service so she could confront
and defeat it. Her story of resilience, bravery, and
acceptance inspires me.
Out of the Depths by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
(2005). Of all of the stories that emerged from
the Holocaust, this memoir by one of the young-
est survivors of Buchenwald—Lau was 8 at the
time of liberation—is one of the most unbeliev-
able, miraculous, and heart- wrenching that you
could read.
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel (2010).
While Martel is best known for The Life of
Pi, this novel is a rollercoaster of faith, animal
rights, humor, and redemption. I consider it one
of the finest books I have ever read.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
(2009). This is a book that you cannot look
away from. Foer, an accomplished novelist
himself, shares the discoveries he made whileresearching the farming and manufacture of meat
as his wife prepared to give birth to their first
child. What he discovers shakes him to his core,
and many of us have followed where that led
him. This book was the last I read before com-
pletely committing to a plant-based lifestyle.The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
(2007). Here is the book that changed my life
forever. A series of philosophical lectures, it is
incredibly direct and not at all flowery. Singer
takes you deep into a consciousness of your pur-
pose here and raises you up to be more than you
knew you could be. This is one of my desert-
island books.Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel S.F. Heller
(2010). Without going into too much detail, I
read this book after a bad breakup. Written by
a neuroscientist and a psychologist, it shifted my
understanding of my own needs as well as of
the pitfalls of seeking love and validation from
others. It is a powerful book for lay people who
are looking for an evidence-based explanation
for why they might be making the wrong choices
in love—and advice on how to get it right.Also of interest...legends in their youth
Lauren Oyler
Pity the author reviewed
by Lauren Oyler, said Anna
Silman in NYMag.com. In
a publishing world where
chumminess and PR hype
often shape how books are
talked about, the 30-year-old
Yale graduate routinely pub-
lishes “the
kind of scath-
ing reviews
that nobody
wants to write
anymore but
that every-
one wants to
read.” Roxane
Gay, Meg Wolitzer, and Sally
Rooney have all been targets
of Oyler takedowns. Last
year, her caustic appraisal
of Jia Tolentino’s essay col-
lection Tric k Mirror attracted
such a flood of readers that it
crashed the London Review
of Books site. But now that
Oyster has written a novel of
her own, is retribution inevi-
table?” “I’m sure one or two
people will try to do a hit job,”
says the West Virginia native.
“That’s fine if it’s fair.”
Fans of Oyler’s criticism will
find the voice of the narrator in
Fake Accounts very familiar,
said Clare Bucknell in The
Wall Street Journal. The char-
acter is, as Oyler was, a writer
for a prominent media web-
site who moves to Berlin and
falls into a relationship with
a guy who isn’t honest about
an important aspect of his life.
Her voice is also, like Oyler’s,
wry, plugged-in, and prone
to self-aware performance.
But Oyler has chosen to tell a
story that, she says, dares to
address real-world news, re-
create the social dynamics of
the internet, and “do all these
things that are purportedly
quite difficult for novels to
do.” Whether Fake Accounts
is panned or praised, Oyler
intends to keep writing fiction,
and keep issuing judgments
on other writers too, particu-
larly the popular ones. “I find
doing criticism very reward-
ing,” she says. “And I just can’t
stay away from what people
are talking about.”Author of the week
Ne
ws
com
,^ P
ete
Vo
elk
er
The 1922 disappearance of Agatha
Christie “was a case fit for Hercule
Poirot,” said Stefanie Milligan in
CSMonitor.com. Previous works of fic-
tion have speculated about what hap-
pened during the crime writer’s unex-
plained 11-day absence, but Marie Benedict’s book
“stands out from the pack.” It toggles between
Christie and her unfaithful husband—a suspect at
the time. “Benedict shines as a suspense writer,”
paying homage to Christie with her skillful han-
dling of the characters’ twisting motives.The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark, $27)
Beneath his surface cynicism, Kurt
Vonnegut was “something of a softie,”
said Peter Tonguette in National
Review. His charmingly sentimental
side is on full display in this “mag-
nificent” collection of wartime letters
to his future wife Jane Marie Cox. He sings her
praises, laments the infrequency of her responses,
and fancifully imagines their future. He also
sent a letter about the bombing of Dresden that
is “nearly as harrowing as, and possibly more
immediate than, Slaughterhouse-Five.”Love, Kurt
by Kurt Vonnegut (Random House, $35)A new Joan Didion collection is a
genuine event—“even if some of the
pieces are more than 50 years old,”
said Bret Easton Ellis in LAMag.com.
This one’s opening half, which includes
six Saturday Evening Post columns
from the late 1960s, “spirals you back to the
glory days of Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” The
only “semi-sour note” in the book is an unkind
essay about Nancy Reagan. Elsewhere, Didion’s
observational powers are characteristically acute.
“And, of course, the prose is peerless.”Let Me Tell You What I Mean
by Joan Didion (Knopf, $23)
James Joyce was not an easy man to
love, said Clea Simon in The Boston
Globe. In this “often wildly engag-
ing” historical novel about his life-
long companion and muse, the Irish
novelist is a philanderer and problem
drinker almost from the start. Author Nuala
O’Connor charts the couple’s ups and downs a
little too studiously, but she succeeds in depict-
ing Nora Barnacle as a woman with “a genius
for living” and in capturing the lovers’ “rare and
lasting connection.”Nora
by Nuala O’Connor (Harper Perennial, $17)